When we finally climbed back into the M3 to get going again, Ashley didn’t put on her clothes. She set her skirt and top down in the footwell and settled down in the seat in the buff, drawing the belt down across her lap, the chest strap crossing between her small breasts.
“Really?” I asked.
“Really,” Ashley said, nodding. “Like I said, it feels, well, liberating. And your story about acting like nothing was wrong when a whole crowd walked in on you, that got me thinking.”
“A dangerous habit,” I said.
“I know,” she agreed. “I try to not do it too much.”
“Wise,” I said, nodding as I pulled the car onto the road.
“Like I said, I got to thinking. I could totally imagine it, you just casually saying hello, sitting on your stool or whatever, posing nude while a bunch of people walk in.”
“There’s even more to that story,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“So the townhouse is just south of the Queensboro bridge, right? Well, my favorite running loop takes me over the bridge to Long Island, across the bridge. Running that loop the next day, I noticed that pedestrians can clearly see that deck if they are walking or running west,” I said.
“So who knows how many people could have seen you?” Ashley said, delighted.
“Honestly, I would have been just a tiny little figure off in the distance,” I said, “but still.”
Ashley thought about it for a moment, then asked, “It didn’t bother you when you realized that, did it?”
“No, not much,” I admitted. “Like I said, nobody without binoculars would have been able to make anything out. And even then, it isn’t like anybody who might have been looking would even tell who I was, so it really didn’t matter.”
“Right. So, if we’re driving along, and some car passes going the other way, they might,” she said, drawing out the syllable, “Just might, be able to see I’m naked, but no way would they ever be able to tell who I am. Even if we stop at a light and the car next to us looks over, it’s dark and the chances they’d recognize me are, like, zero. And it feels, well, like I said, liberating. I’m naked, right?”
“Looks like it to me,” I agreed.
“But I don’t feel, um, ashamed, or… well, embarrassed, or anything. I feel desirable, you know? But, like, since it’s me doing it, I don’t feel objectified or anything. Just, like, this is me. Me being me.”
“Well, you being you, what are your plans when I drop you off at your apartment?” I asked, amused.
Ashley thought about it for a moment, then said, “I’m just gonna walk right up to my front door like this, then go inside like nothing was any different than usual. Say hello to my roommates, then go to my room, same as always.”
“What are you going to tell them?” I asked, curious.
“I’m not telling them a damn thing. Heck, I might take my time in the kitchen, grab a snack, who knows? I’m gonna act like being naked is not worth talking about,” Ashley said, half convincing herself.
“What if there are people over? Do your roommates have boyfriends?” I asked.
“I’d say hello to them, too,” Ashley replied, nodding to herself. Then, turning to me, she said, “But honestly, it’s already pretty late and it’s a weeknight, so the chances are they’ll be in their rooms already anyhow.”
Sure enough, Ashley got out of the car and walked naked, carrying her clothes under her arm, across the sidewalk and up the stairs to the second floor of the small apartment building. I watched as she dug her key out of her little purse, opened the door, then turned around and gave me a wave before disappearing inside. Of course, like she said, it was late on a weeknight so the street was deserted, but still, I admired her resolve.
The next morning I worked out in the condo building’s deserted gym instead of going for a run or back to The Pit. All they had were a few cardio machines and some multi-gym stations, which was a pretty sad effort. It was enough to get an O.K. workout in, but only as a last resort. Still, it got me ready for the day at the office, and that’s what I needed.
The day passed quickly, work keeping me occupied until I was the last one left in the office. I hadn’t been paying that much attention to the hospitality division, and it was good to really catch up and get a feel for how things were going.
I talked to Emmy and Angela for about an hour when I got back to the condo. They were both in a really good mood, and wanted to tell me why. They’d spent the day thinking about which room to turn into a nursery, then shopping for just the right bassinets, cribs and other baby furniture. They didn’t actually buy anything, since Angela was convinced that it was bad luck to do so before the pregnancy, but the two of them thoroughly enjoyed the exploratory expedition.
Angela and Emmy were so giddy talking about the completely adorable baby paraphernalia they had seen that I hardly got a word in besides, ‘Yeah?” and “uh huh,” and “I’d bet it was cute.”
I loved that they were so enthusiastic, but honestly I was concerned that the odds were still very much against us and I didn’t want their dreams crushed if the Korean lab couldn’t do what they’d promised. I found myself in a balancing act, trying to sound encouraging and involved, but not feeding their baby euphoria too much, just in case.
It isn’t to say that I wasn’t excited about the idea of having two beautiful little babies, but rather that I was trying to temper my expectations. For whatever reason their biological alarm clocks had gone off big-time, and I worried that it would hit them extremely hard if things didn’t actually work out.
Getting dressed for the club, I re-discovered Ashley’s phone number in my jacket pocket. On impulse, I gave her a call to ask if she wanted to go to the club with me.
“Hello?” came her voice from the phone, unsure. “Who is this?”
“Hey, Ash,” I said. “It’s me. Hey, want to go to the club tonight?”
“Leah!” Ashley’s voice squealed from the small speaker. “Your club? Tonight?”
“Yeah, my club, tonight,” I confirmed.
“Oh, hell yeah!” Angela said. “And you know what? I have the perfect dress!”
“As long as it’s not what you wore last night,” I joked.
“You mean ‘what I didn’t wear’?” she asked, her voice teasing.
“Yeah, that too,” I agreed.
“You’ll see,” she said. Then in a muffled voice obviously not intended for me, she said, “Yeah, it’s her. I freaking told you, didn’t I?”
“Told them what?” I asked.
“I told them you had a restaurant and secret bar, a place, like, only millionaires can get in. I told them it was all Prohibition-style and you’re like the big gangster boss,” Ashley said. “When you come to pick me up, come up to the apartment. I want my completely disbelieving roommates to see you in your suit.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Laughing, I said, “Yeah, I can do that. Why not?”
When I knocked on the door of Ashley’s apartment about an hour and a half later, a girl that I vaguely recognized as Ashley’s roommate from the year before opened the door. Her eyes widened as she looked me up and down, before she hollered back into the apartment.
“Ash! Your hot as fuck Amazon gangster girlfriend is here!” she yelled.
“Don’t be a bitch! Let her in!” another voice I didn’t recognized yelled back.
I stepped into the small, less than perfectly clean apartment, following the first girl. In the living room were two others, who both looked at me as if I were a mermaid, or an alien, or some other mythical creature.
“Holy shit,” one of the two on the couch said.
“No shit,” said the other. “Ash said you own a bar for, like, millionaires.”
“That’s where we’re going for dinner tonight,” I confirmed.
Just then Ashley burst into the room, wearing black heels and a tiny little cocktail dress made of some shiny material that almost looked like black metal chain mail. It hung low and loose over her chest, open down all the way to the bottom of her sternum. The sides showed plenty of side-boob, too, because the back was completely open, showing off her venus dimples. The skirt was short, cut all the way up to the top of her left hip, maximizing her legs.
“Jesus, Ash,” I said, impressed. “That is some dress. Well, it’s actually hardly any dress at all, really…”
She’d done her makeup in a much more sultry look than I was used to seeing her, and her long, dark hair was swept up in a sort of complex thing that I didn’t really understand, except that it looked great on her.
Ashley smiled a bit shyly, seeing my reaction. “What do you think?” she asked.
“Ash,” I said. “You look amazing.”
“Woohoo!” the roommate who’d opened the door crowed. “Ash gonna get laid tonight!”
Ashley sighed and let her shoulders drop. “Tracy, you are such a bitch,” she said, turning to face her roommate. “Seriously, I freaking asked you to act like a normal person, and you said you would. This is why none of the rest of us want you rooming with us next year.”
Turning back to me, Ashley said, “Come on. Let’s go.” She reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me to the front door.
I opened the car door for her, and she gave me a grateful smile as she slid in. When I settled into the driver’s seat, Ashley said, “I told them that we’re just friends. That whole ‘getting laid’ thing was just Trace being an ass.”
“To be fair,” I said. “That dress is so sexy, I can understand where she’s coming from.” I glanced over and caught Ashley smiling at me in a sort of bittersweet way.
“You’ve seen me in a lot less,” she said. “Which really- that only means one thing less, I guess, since there’s no way I could wear panties with this thing, much less a bra."
“The ‘no bra’ part is obvious,” I agreed. “And the ‘no panties’ part, yeah, I got that, too, when you climbed into the car.”
“Seriously?” Ashley asked. “I was really not trying to flash you, I swear.”
“Yeah, it didn’t seem as if you were,” I agreed. “But the valet at the restaurant is going to enjoy the show, if you’re not more careful.”
“I wouldn’t want him to see this,” Ashley said in a mock serious tone as she pulled her little skirt up to show off her smooth mound. “This is just for you.”
“It does seem to be regularly on display for me, alright,” I agreed.
“I’ve decided that’s my thing now,” Ashley said. “I’ve accepted that you aren’t going to take me back to your place and ruin me forever for other women. Or men, for that matter,” she added. “So, since being with you is a safe place, and I know that when I’m with you I can… Well, show off this side, I guess, that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna walk in that bar on your arm, and everybody in there is going to know that you could have me. Nobody else in that place could, but you could in a moment.”
“Please, keep it, um, at least somewhat subtle,” I said. “Don’t make me regret bringing you to the club.”
“I won’t, don’t worry,” Ashley said. “I’ll keep it classy.”
“Alright,” I said as I pulled up in front of the steakhouse. “Here’s your first test.”
I didn’t know either of the two valets, but judging by the way they leapt to open our doors, they knew who I was.
I got out quickly, keeping an eye on the guy helping Ashley out of the car. If he got a peek, he was good at hiding it. Ashley thanked him demurely, and I told the guy that had opened my door that I was going to be there late, so don’t keep my car out in front.
The steakhouse had a valet policy like any other place’s, where the flashier a car, the closer it got parked to the front, so that other guests could see and be impressed by the caliber of vehicles. By the standards of the cars already parked there, my baby blue M3 was unimpressive, so it could go farther back.
I followed Ashley into the restaurant, admiring the way that metal dress draped over her little runner’s butt. I mentally made a note to get a dress like that for both Emmy and Angela, imagining the two in those shimmering barely-there outfits.
The hostess jumped to attention when she saw who it was. “Ms Farmer!” she said. “Will you be eating in the restaurant tonight?”
“No, I think we’ll go straight back,” I said, tilting my head towards the back of the restaurant.
“Just so,” said the maître d’ as he glided up. Although I obviously knew the way, he led us to the back anyway, rapping softly on the unmarked door.
Tony gawked momentarily at Ashley when he opened the door, but pulled it together quickly. “Boss!” He exclaimed, opening the door wide for us.
“Hey, Tone,” I said, giving him a fist bump. “How’s the crowd tonight?”
“It’s early, but we’re close to a full house now,” he said. “It’s getting like this all the time, even on weeknights anymore.”
“It’s a good problem to have,” I said with a smile.
“Yes, it sure is,” he agreed.
Making my meet and greet circuit, I saw that he was right. There was barely an empty seat in the house except for my table, which was conspicuously unoccupied. On my round through the club I introduced Ashley as my friend, getting a few raised eyebrows and more than one or two “Where is Angela?” questions.
When we finally made it to the table, Ashley asked, “O.K., who is this Angela person everybody asks about?”
Theo arrived at just that moment, so I avoided the question by ordering us an Old Fashioned and a Singapore Sling. “Virgin, Theo,” I said, as he turned to go back to the bar.
Ashley stuck her tongue out at me. “Seriously, a little alcohol isn’t gonna kill me.”
“No, but it might kill my liquor license,” I said.
“So- who is this Angela person everybody was asking about?” Ashley persisted.
Sighing, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I opened the photo app and found a picture of Angela dressed in her ‘gangster girlfriend’ outfit. “This is Angela,” I said, showing Ashley the phone, but not letting her take it. I didn’t want her scrolling through my photos, now did I?
“She’s pretty,” Ashley said.
“Yeah, she sure is,” I agreed, just as Theo set our drinks down and the waitress asked if we were going to eat.
“I feel like a salad tonight- maybe with grilled chicken. Thanks, Tanya,” I said to the young Night Child woman.
“Um, can I have a menu?” Ashley asked, at a loss.
“Ash, normally there are only tapas back here- more like snacks, really. But the chef will make whatever you want. Just ask,” I said.
“Can I get… grilled salmon? With, I dunno, Brussels sprouts?” Ashley asked.
“Of course,” Tanya replied. “I’ll get those in for you right now.”
“Wait- I don’t really want salmon,” Ashley admitted. “It was just the first thing that popped into my head. Can I actually have a little filet mignon with grilled vegetables?”
“How would you like the filet?”
“Um… Medium rare,” Ashley said. “And can I get a Coke?”
Tanya smiled and said, “It’ll be right out,” and gave a little bow as she backed away from the table.
“So, like, I could have ordered anything? Like, anything at all?” Ashley asked, amazed.
“Well, within reason. Asking for a sushi roll wouldn’t get you anywhere, but if you’d wanted lamb chops with mint glaze, or stuffed mushrooms in red wine sauce, sure,” I said.
“And anybody here in the um, speakeasy can just order like that?”
“No, just me. It’s good to be the boss,” I said, leaning back against the banquette.
“Jesus, no kidding,” Ashley said as leaned forward to reach for my phone again.
“Boobs,” I said, so she’d hear me but nobody else would.
“What?”
“You’re showing off,” I said.
Ashley glanced around, then convinced that only I was getting a show, she said, “It’s not like you haven’t seen the twins before,” with a naughty grin.
“This is a nice, family establishment,” I admonished.
“Yeah, right,” she said, leaning back. “So, quit avoiding the question.”
“What question?” I asked. I was saved at that moment by a small group of members coming up to our table to say hello, and introduce their guests.
Unfortunately, one of the regulars asked about Angela, causing Ashley to glare at me.
After they left, Ashley was insistent. “Seriously, who is this Angela chick? ‘Cause I know we aren’t talking about your wife that you would never, ever cheat on.”
Just then Tanya came back with our food, so the discussion got postponed for a moment.
“Take out your phone and shoot some pics for your dad,” I suggested before Ashley could dig in. “But maybe don’t send your parents any pics of that dress?” This got a laugh from Ashley, and she did as I suggested. When she put her phone away, I had mine out.
“Let me take a picture of you,” I said, and she posed with her shoulders back and a little smile on her face.
“You should have taken a pic last night,” she teased.
“No, I don’t think I should have,” I said. “But this one, I’m sending to Emmy. And to Angela.” I typed up a quick text and sent it along with the photo.
“You just sent that to Emmy?” Ashley asked, surprised.
“And Angela, but that’s easy, since they’re together in New York right now.”
“So you still haven’t told me who this Angela chick is,” Ashley said, cutting into her filet.
“It’s a long story, and one you would probably better hear from Emmy than from me,” I said. “I asked her to call and explain it all to you when she gets a chance.”
“What’s so hard to explain?”
“Nothing, really, I just think it might be better if Emmy explained it to you. That way it won’t sound…” I said, at a loss for words.
“Like you’re hiding something?” she asked, suspiciously.
“Not how I would have said it, but yeah,” I conceded, digging into my Mediterranean salad.